Clamp for slender object such as cable

Abstract

A plastic cable clamp ( 1 ) has a substantially U-shaped clamp portion formed with a pair of clamp arms, and a cover ( 13 ) for closing an opening in the clamp portion. The cover pivots on a hinge to close the opening in the clamp portion and is maintained in the closed position by means of an engagement portion ( 18 ) thereon. A protrusion ( 26 ) is formed at the end of a clamp arm with the hinge, and a recess ( 27 ) is formed in the cover to receive the protrusion. The recess includes a first hole ( 29 ) extending from one side of the cover toward the other side of the cover, and a second hole ( 30 ) adjacent to the first hole and extending from the other side of the cover toward the one side of the cover. One of the walls ( 31 ) of the recess is formed by an end surface of the first hole on the other side, and an opposite wall ( 33 ) is formed by an end surface of the second hole at the one side. The cable clamp can be manufactured by using a simple shaping mold, allowing the cable clamp to be manufactured with two split dies and without requiring any additional die component such as a slide.

1 . An integrally molded plastic clamp for holding a slender object, comprising a substantially U-shaped clamp portion having a pair of clamp arms and a cover for closing an opening in the clamp portion, wherein one end of the cover is connected by a thin hinge to one of the clamp arms, enabling the cover to pivot and close the opening in the clamp portion, wherein an engagement portion is formed on the other end of the cover to engage an engagement portion on one end of the other clamp arm to maintain the cover in the closed position, wherein a protrusion projects outwardly from the one clamp arm, and a recess is formed in the cover at a position corresponding to the protrusion to receive the protrusion when the cover is closed, wherein an interlocking shoulder for interlocking with the protrusion so as to lock the cover in the closed position is formed in the recess, wherein walls on opposite sides of the recess restrict movement of the protrusion lengthwise with respect to the slender object, wherein the recess includes a first hole extending from one side of the cover toward the other side of the cover lengthwise with respect to the slender object and a second hole adjacent to the first hole and extending from the other side of the cover toward the one side of the cover lengthwise with respect to the slender object, and wherein one of the walls of the recess is formed by an end surface of the first hole on the other side, and the other wall is formed by an end surface of the second hole on the one side.  
   
   
       2 . A clamp as described in  claim 1 , wherein the clamp has a fixed portion to be attached to a support, wherein the fixed portion includes a shaft extending from the clamp portion, a pair of elastic legs extending from an end of the shaft towards the clamp portion and bending outwardly in opposite directions with respect to one another, and a flange adjacent to the clamp portion at the base of the shaft, wherein a plurality of shoulders are formed on outside ends of the legs to interlock with an edge of an attachment hole in the support, and wherein a pair of elastic portions project outwardly from the flange for elastically contacting the support.